Take action now against the Supreme Court ruling and for trans rights

By UCU Commons

A core value of UCU Commons is equality and dignity for everyone; but particularly for transgender and nonbinary people whose rights and wellbeing have faced increasing attacks over the last few years. This has culminated in a supreme court case, brought by For Women Scotland and backed financially by the author JK Rowling, which ruled that the definition of ‘woman’ was based on ‘biological sex’. We were alarmed to hear that transgender people, whose lives are most impacted by this ruling, were not allowed to give evidence at the hearing, and deeply concerned to see compliance in advance from London Transport Police, who stated that transgender women in their custody would be strip searched by male officers. Statements from the Prime Minister and Minister for Equalities (who also serves as Education Minister) stating that the definition of woman is based on ‘biological sex’ are alarming, and we welcome the Good Law Project’s announcement of a crowdfunded case to challenge the ruling (see our list of actions below).

We were horrified at the EHRC’s release of interim guidance on single-sex spaces in the wake of this ruling, despite the fact that the ruling does not mandate the exclusion of trans men or women from any space, or that organisations should act in a prejudiced way towards trans and gender diverse people. The interim guidance states that in workplaces and services open to the public, trans men and women, as well as young trans people, should not be permitted to use ‘single-sex’ facilities in their affirmed gender, and that under some circumstances they should be legally prohibited from using facilities corresponding to the sex they were assigned at birth. As well as being an attack on the rights and dignity of all LGBTQIA+ people, we believe that the interim guidance represents a massive overreach that will inevitably face many legal challenges.

Activist and legal researcher Jess O’Thomson has produced a breakdown of the ruling, highlighting its many contradictions and unworkable conclusions, and Sophie Lewis has outlined its negative impact for all women. We encourage you to read these.

We believe the most important thing at this point for our trans siblings is urgent action, and below we outline a list of concrete steps that everyone can take, today, to fight back against this ruling. We urge you to share this with all your contacts, asking them to act and share with their contacts.

1. If you have any cash to spare, no matter how much or little, donate to the Good Law Project’s crowdfunder to challenge the ruling. UCU Commons have today made a donation. If you have the financial ability, Ruth Pearce suggests further community solidarity initiatives to donate to.

2. If you run a venue or any sort of space with toilets or changing rooms, email or telephone the EHRC, stating that their interim guidance does not work for you, as it states that trans people could be excluded from all gendered spaces. Dr Phoenix Andrews has produced an excellent set of explainers on his Instagram as to why posts are great but actually contacting the EHRC as soon as possible is crucial.

3. Contact your employer and ask that they do not comply in advance with interim guidance, asking them to uphold their duty to trans and nonbinary people who use their spaces, be they staff, students, patients, visitors, customers, contractors or anyone else. Even if your workplace already has a clear policy of trans-inclusion, the ruling may put existing commitments into doubt for both trans people who work or study there, and also for transphobes who would seek to abuse them in single sex spaces. We need to ask our organisations to make loud, unequivocal trans inclusive statements –– and if they refuse, we need to apply pressure for them to do so. If you work in an educational space, you can find a template for a letter to send to your vice chancellor, principal, or governor here: [template below]

4. Contact any spaces you use as a customer or client (gyms, libraries, pubs, cafés etc.) demanding that they uphold trans inclusive policies and to clearly signal that this is the case by, for example, displaying a trans pride flag in the window and stating this clearly on websites. Many venues in Bristol, for example, have proactively taken this step, which we hope to see replicated all over the country.

5. Write to your MP. Whether or not your MP is supportive, unsupportive, or indifferent, an influx of communications over any topic makes it hard for them to ignore. You can find a template for an email to your MP here. You can also email the Prime Minister directly to indicate your discontent with his stance.

6. Bring a motion to your UCU branch meeting. UCU has an unequivocal position on trans rights and trans inclusion. However, a motion will reaffirm that commitment in light of the ruling and provide a clear commitment to trans members of your branch that they can seek support in the union should they need it. You can find a motion template here [template below].

7. Attend a protest. You can find a list of protests across the UK in the coming weeks here, and a protest map is here.

8. Sign a petition. Ideally, sign all of them! 

9. Be in visible solidarity with trans people by wearing a trans pride badge. As Arthur Webber points out, this also makes it harder for any would-be toilet monitors to tell who is trans, and the Section 28 days have taught us that the more cis allies are prepared to stand in active solidarity, the better. You can buy them cheaply online here and here. Even better, if there are any trans creators local to you selling them, buy one from them.

10. Adapt and use this email auto-reply from Dr Ruth Pearce. 

11. Join the Trade Unionists for Trans Rights WhatsApp group.

This is not yet law, and not yet a hopeless situation. There is a lot you can easily do, right now, to help trans and nonbinary people, but time is of the essence.

In solidarity,

UCU Commons

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Template letter to employer:

The Supreme Court ruling on the 16^th of April makes it legal for institutions to exclude transgender people from single-sex spaces, which will have extremely troubling consequences for transgender members of our community and their right to exist in public spaces. That ruling – that the definition of sex under the Equality Act 2010 refers to “biological sex” – does not mandate that trans men and women should be excluded from any space or that organisations should act in a prejudiced way toward trans and gender diverse people. However, it is also open to misinterpretation that will empower those who seek to bully trans people out of these spaces. Will the [Vice Chancellor/Principal/Governor] and [institution] management offer explicit and unequivocal commitment, in the form of a statement, that transgender staff and students will still be welcome in bathrooms and changing rooms in accordance with their gender identity, and that gender neutral spaces will remain widely available? Even if [institution] has already confirmed a commitment to trans inclusion, the uncertainties generated by the ruling necessitate that they should be re-stated to provide reassurance to trans members in our work place at an extremely difficult time for them.

Template branch motion:

The branch notes:

• The Supreme Court ruling of 16^th April 2025 declares that sex in the Equality Act 2010 refers to sex assigned at birth, regardless of whether they possess a Gender Recognition Certificate.
• The interim guidance released by the EHRC on 25 April 2025, which constitutes a massive overreach.
• The ruling’s exclusion of trans men from female single-sex spaces, leaving this group with the possibility of no facilities or service provision at all.

The branch believes:

• This contradicts current practices at most post-16 educational institutions, which allow all staff and students to use the gendered spaces that are most appropriate to them.
• This ruling is in contradiction to the basic human rights and dignity of trans, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, intersex, and other gender-diverse staff and students and is likely to lead to a rise in discrimination.

The branch resolves to:

• Call on our employer not to comply in advance with any guidelines and to release a statement reassuring all gender-diverse staff and students of their unwavering support and the continued right to use the facilities matching their identity.
• Ensure employers avoid discrimination of trans, intersex and non-binary staff and students.
• Support local trans rights protests and activities.